Apparatus and method for managing a social network

ABSTRACT

A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, a system having a controller to collect one or more user-generated comments from each of a plurality of computing devices, detect a correlation in the one or more user-generated comments collected from the plurality of computing devices, and establish a social network between the plurality of computing devices according to the detected correlation. The one or more user-generated comments can be temporally associated with media content presented at the plurality of computing devices. Other embodiments are disclosed.

RELATED APPLICATION

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/146,131, filed Jun. 25, 2008, byAmento et al., entitled “Method and Apparatus for Presenting MediaPrograms.” All sections of the aforementioned application areincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates generally to media content and morespecifically to an apparatus and method for managing a social network.

BACKGROUND

Consumers have a number of venues to access media content. For example,consumers can view video content supplied by social networking portalssuch as MySpace, FaceBook, and YouTube over an Internet browser.Similarly, consumers can view via a set-top box video content suppliedby an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) communication system, asatellite TV communication system, cable TV communication system, orother interactive TV systems. Other forms of media content such as audiocontent, pictures, articles, or combinations thereof can also beaccessed by consumers over a public network such as the Internet.

Consumers can share with others their thoughts about media content theyhave consumed by word of mouth, text messaging (e.g., email), or otherforms of common communication.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1-2 depict illustrative embodiments of communication systems thatprovide media services;

FIG. 3 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a portal interacting withthe communication systems of FIGS. 1-2;

FIG. 4 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a communication deviceutilized in the communication systems of FIGS. 1-2;

FIG. 5 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a system for transmittingmedia content, the system operable in the communications systems ofFIGS. 1-2;

FIG. 6 depicts a screenshot illustrating commentary on a timelineassociated with a media program;

FIG. 7 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a method operable inportions of the communication systems of FIGS. 1-2 and 5;

FIG. 8 depicts an illustrative embodiment of an adaptive social networkresulting from the method of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 is a diagrammatic representation of a machine in the form of acomputer system within which a set of instructions, when executed, maycause the machine to perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One embodiment of the present disclosure can entail a method involvingpresenting an overlay combined with a presentation of media content ateach of a plurality of computing devices to illustrate a collection ofone or more user-generated comments temporally associated with portionsof the presented media content, collecting one or more user-generatedcomments from each of the plurality of computing devices, detecting acorrelation in the one or more user-generated comments collected fromthe plurality of computing devices, and establishing a social networkbetween at least a subset of the plurality of computing devicesaccording to the detected correlation.

One embodiment of the present disclosure can entail a system having acontroller to collect one or more comments from each of a plurality ofcomputing devices, detect a correlation in the one or more commentscollected from the plurality of computing devices, and establish asocial network between at least a subset of the plurality of computingdevices according to the detected correlation. The one or more commentscan be temporally associated with media content presented at theplurality of computing devices.

One embodiment of the present disclosure can entail a computer-readablestorage medium in a computing device having computer instructions tocollect one or more comments temporally associated with a presentationof media content, and transmit to a system the comments. The system canbe operable to collect the one or more comments from the computingdevice along with other comments from other computing devices, detect acorrelation in the one or more comments collected from the plurality ofcomputing devices, and establish a social network between at least asubset of the plurality of computing devices according to the detectedcorrelation.

FIG. 1 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a first communicationsystem 100 for delivering media content. The communication system 100can represent an Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) broadcast mediasystem. The IPTV media system can include a super head-end office (SHO)110 with at least one super headend office server (SHS) 111 whichreceives media content from satellite and/or terrestrial communicationsystems. In the present context, media content can represent audiocontent, moving image content such as videos, still image content, orcombinations thereof. The SHS server 111 can forward packets associatedwith the media content to video head-end servers (VHS) 114 via a networkof video head-end offices (VHO) 112 according to a common multicastcommunication protocol.

The VHS 114 can distribute multimedia broadcast programs via an accessnetwork 118 to commercial and/or residential buildings 102 housing agateway 104 (such as a common residential or commercial gateway). Theaccess network 118 can represent a group of digital subscriber lineaccess multiplexers (DSLAMs) located in a central office or a servicearea interface that provide broadband services over optical links orcopper twisted pairs 119 to buildings 102. The gateway 104 can usecommon communication technology to distribute broadcast signals to mediaprocessors 106 such as Set-Top Boxes (STBs) which in turn presentbroadcast channels to media devices 108 such as computers or televisionsets managed in some instances by a media controller 107 (such as aninfrared or RF remote control).

The gateway 104, the media processors 106, and media devices 108 canutilize tethered interface technologies (such as coaxial or phone linewiring) or can operate over a common wireless access protocol. Withthese interfaces, unicast communications can be invoked between themedia processors 106 and subsystems of the IPTV media system forservices such as video-on-demand (VoD), browsing an electronicprogramming guide (EPG), or other infrastructure services.

Some of the network elements of the IPTV media system can be coupled toone or more computing devices 130 a portion of which can operate as aweb server for providing portal services over an Internet ServiceProvider (ISP) network 132 to wireline media devices 108 or wirelesscommunication devices 116 by way of a wireless access base station 117operating according to common wireless access protocols such as WirelessFidelity (WiFi), or cellular communication technologies (such as GSM,CDMA, UMTS, WiMAX, Software Defined Radio or SDR, and so on).

The first communication system 100 can also include a recipient mediadevice 135. The recipient media device 135 can be communicatively linkedto the ISP network 132, the one or more computing devices 130, and toother devices in the system 100. Notably, the recipient media device 135can be a STB, mobile device, personal computer, telephone, personaldigital assistant (PDA), or other device capable of receiving andtransmitting media content. Furthermore, the recipient media device 135can be configured to operate in an iTV network, which can include, butis not limited to including, IPTV, interactive cable television, andinteractive satellite television.

The recipient media device 135 can be configured to transmit requestsfor media content and commentary associated with the media content fromdevices in the system 100. The commentary can be user-generated and canbe in a temporal vicinity of the associated media content. The mediacontent and associated commentary can come from devices such as, but isnot limited to, STBs 106, media devices 108, and wireless communicationsdevice 116. Notably, the media content and associated commentary caninclude video content, audio content, still image content, text content,and other media content. Additionally, the recipient media device 135can be configured to receive and respond to requests from devices in thesystem 100 for media content and commentary associated with the mediacontent. In responding to the requests from the devices, the recipientmedia device 135 can transmit media content and commentary associatedwith the recipient media device 135 to the requesting devices.

Another distinct portion of the computing devices 130 can function as aserver (herein referred to as server 130). The server 130 can use commoncomputing and communication technology to perform the function ofreceiving, transmitting, maintaining, processing, and storing varioustypes of content. As mentioned above, such content can include videocontent, audio content, still image content, text content, and othercontent. The server 130 can maintain a client program, which can bedownloaded and/or accessed by the devices in the system 100. The clientprogram can be configured to present an overlay that can be superimposedonto the media content and can allow users of the devices in the system100 to associate a comment with media content received at the devices.

Additionally, the server 130 can be configured to receive requests forthe media content and commentary associated with the media content fromthe devices in the system 100, such as the recipient media device 135and the STBs 106. Furthermore, the server 130 can relay and/or store theactual media content and/or the commentary associated with the mediacontent, and/or relay links to the media content and/or commentaryassociated with the media content to the devices in the system 100requesting the content and/or commentary.

It will be appreciated by an artisan of ordinary skill in the art that asatellite broadcast television system can be used in place of the IPTVmedia system. In this embodiment, signals transmitted by a satellite 115supplying media content can be intercepted by a common satellite dishreceiver 131 coupled to the building 102. Modulated signals interceptedby the satellite dish receiver 131 can be submitted to the mediaprocessors 106 for generating broadcast channels which can be presentedat the media devices 108. The media processors 106 can be equipped witha broadband port to the ISP network 132 to enable infrastructureservices such as VoD and EPG described above.

In yet another embodiment, an analog or digital broadcast distributionsystem such as cable TV system 133 can be used in place of the IPTVmedia system described above. In this embodiment the cable TV system 133can provide Internet, telephony, and interactive media services.

It follows from the above illustrations that the present disclosure canapply to any present or future interactive over-the-air or landlinemedia content services.

FIG. 2 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a communication system 200.employing an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network architecture tofacilitate the combined services of circuit-switched and packet-switchedsystems. Communication system 200 can be overlaid or operably coupledwith communication system 100 as another representative embodiment ofcommunication system 100.

Communication system 200 can comprise a Home Subscriber Server (HSS)240, a tElephone NUmber Mapping (ENUM) server 230, and other commonnetwork elements of an IMS network 250. The IMS network 250 canestablish communications between IMS compliant communication devices(CD) 201, 202, Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) CDs 203, 205,and combinations thereof by way of a Media Gateway Control Function(MGCF) 220 coupled to a PSTN network 260.

IMS CDs 201, 202 can register with the IMS network 250 by contacting aProxy Call Session Control Function (P-CSCF) which communicates with acorresponding Serving CSCF (S-CSCF) to register the CDs with at the HSS240. To initiate a communication session between CDs, an originating IMSCD 201 can submit a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP INVITE) message toan originating P-CSCF 204 which communicates with a correspondingoriginating S-CSCF 206. The originating S-CSCF 206 can submit queries tothe ENUM system 230 to translate an E.164 telephone number in the SIPINVITE to a SIP Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) if the terminatingcommunication device is IMS compliant.

The SIP URI can be used by an Interrogating CSCF (I-CSCF) 207 to submita query to the HSS 240 to identify a terminating S-CSCF 214 associatedwith a terminating IMS CD such as reference 202. Once identified, theI-CSCF 207 can submit the SIP INVITE to the terminating S-CSCF 214. Theterminating S-CSCF 214 can then identify a terminating P-CSCF 216associated with the terminating CD 202. The P-CSCF 216 then signals theCD 202 to establish communications.

If the terminating communication device is instead a PSTN CD such asreferences 203 or 205, the ENUM system 230 can respond with anunsuccessful address resolution which can cause the originating S-CSCF206 to forward the call to the MGCF 220 via a Breakout Gateway ControlFunction (BGCF) 219. The MGCF 220 can then initiate the call to theterminating PSTN CD by common means over the PSTN network 260.

The aforementioned communication process is symmetrical. Accordingly,the terms “originating” and “terminating” in FIG. 2 are interchangeable.It is further noted that communication system 200 can be adapted tosupport video conferencing by way of common protocols such as H.323. Inaddition, communication system 200 can be adapted to provide the IMS CDs201, 203 the multimedia and Internet services of communication system100.

The server 130 of FIG. 1 can be operably coupled to the secondcommunication system 200 for purposes similar to those described above.

FIG. 3 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a portal 302 which canoperate from the computing devices 130 described earlier ofcommunication 100 illustrated in FIG. 1. The portal 302 can be used formanaging services of communication systems 100-200. The portal 302 canbe accessed by a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) with a common Internetbrowser such as Microsoft's Internet Explorer™ using an Internet-capablecommunication device such as those described for FIGS. 1-2. The portal302 can be configured, for example, to access a media processor 106 andservices managed thereby such as a Digital Video Recorder (DVR), a VoDcatalog, an EPG, a personal catalog (such as personal videos, pictures,audio recordings, etc.) stored in the media processor, provisioning IMSservices described earlier, provisioning Internet services, provisioningcellular phone services, and so on.

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary embodiment of a communication device 400.Communication device 400 can serve in whole or in part as anillustrative embodiment of the communication devices of FIGS. 1-2. Thecommunication device 400 can comprise a wireline and/or wirelesstransceiver 402 (herein transceiver 402), a user interface (UI) 404, apower supply 414, a location receiver 416, and a controller 406 formanaging operations thereof. The transceiver 402 can support short-rangeor long-range wireless access technologies such as Bluetooth, WiFi,Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT), or cellularcommunication technologies, just to mention a few. Cellular technologiescan include, for example, CDMA-1X, UMTS/HSDPA, GSM/GPRS, TDMA/EDGE,EV/DO, WiMAX, SDR, and next generation cellular wireless communicationtechnologies as they arise. The transceiver 402 can also be adapted tosupport circuit-switched wireline access technologies (such as PSTN),packet-switched wireline access technologies (such as TCPIP, VoIP,etc.), and combinations thereof.

The UI 404 can include a depressible or touch-sensitive keypad 408 witha navigation mechanism such as a roller ball, joystick, mouse, ornavigation disk for manipulating operations of the communication device400. The keypad 408 can be an integral part of a housing assembly of thecommunication device 400 or an independent device operably coupledthereto by a tethered wireline interface (such as a USB cable) or awireless interface supporting for example Bluetooth. The keypad 408 canrepresent a numeric dialing keypad commonly used by phones, and/or aQwerty keypad with alphanumeric keys. The UI 404 can further include adisplay 410 such as monochrome or color LCD (Liquid Crystal Display),OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) or other suitable display technologyfor conveying images to an end user of the communication device 400. Inan embodiment where the display 410 is touch-sensitive, a portion or allof the keypad 408 can be presented by way of the display.

The UI 404 can also include an audio system 412 that utilizes commonaudio technology for conveying low volume audio (such as audio heardonly in the proximity of a human ear) and high volume audio (such asspeakerphone for hands free operation). The audio system 412 can furtherinclude a microphone for receiving audible signals of an end user. Theaudio system 412 can also be used for voice recognition applications.The UI 404 can further include an image sensor 413 such as a chargedcoupled device (CCD) camera for capturing still or moving images.

The power supply 414 can utilize common power management technologiessuch as replaceable and rechargeable batteries, supply regulationtechnologies, and charging system technologies for supplying energy tothe components of the communication device 400 to facilitate long-rangeor short-range portable applications. The location receiver 416 canutilize common location technology such as a global positioning system(GPS) receiver for identifying a location of the communication device400 based on signals generated by a constellation of GPS satellites,thereby facilitating common location services such as navigation.

The communication device 400 can use the transceiver 402 to alsodetermine a proximity to a cellular, WiFi or Bluetooth access point bycommon power sensing techniques such as utilizing a received signalstrength indicator (RSSI) and/or a signal time of arrival (TOA) or timeof flight (TOF). The controller 406 can utilize computing technologiessuch as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and/or avideo processor with associated storage memory such a Flash, ROM, RAM,SRAM, DRAM or other storage technologies.

The communication device 400 can be adapted to perform the functions ofthe media processor 106, the media devices 108, or the portablecommunication devices 116 of FIG. 1, as well as the IMS CDs 201-202 andPSTN CDs 203-205 of FIG. 2. It will be appreciated that thecommunication device 400 can also represent other common devices thatcan operate in communication systems 100-200 of FIGS. 1-2 such as agaming console and a media player.

FIG. 5 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a system 500 fortransmitting media content, the system 500 being operable in portions ofthe communications systems of FIGS. 1-2. The system 500 can include oneor more media devices 502, 504, and 506, which can be configured todeliver media content to display devices 508 a-c and deliver and/orreceive media content from server 510, communications device 512, andcomputing device 514. The media devices 502, 504, and 506 can be STBs orother similar media devices. The display devices 508 a-c can include anydevice capable of displaying and/or playing media content such astelevisions, cellular phones, personal digital assistants (PDA),computers, and the like. The server 510 can be a device including theoperative features of server 130, among other features. Thecommunications device 512 can include, for example, a mobile device, acellular phone, wireless device, or other communications device and thecomputing device 514 can be a computer or laptop.

The server 510 can be utilized to communicatively link the media devices502 to the other devices of the system 500. Notably, the server 510 canbe configured to receive, transmit, maintain, and store various types ofmedia content. Additionally, the server 510 can include a clientprogram, which can be accessed, downloaded, and/or otherwise utilized bythe devices in the system 500. The client program can present an overlaythat can be superimposed onto media content that is displayed and/orreceived at the devices in the system 500. Users of the client programcan use the client program to associate commentary/comments with themedia content accessed by the user.

Users of the client program can select a portion of the media contentand insert a comment in a temporal vicinity of the media content. Forexample, if the user is watching a television show, the user can selecta particular scene or segment, or select a button which at the time thebutton is depressed creates a temporal association with a scene orsegment of the show. Responsive to this selection, the user can create acommentary by common means such as by keyboard input, or a microphonethat can captures speech which can be translated to text using commonvoice recognition techniques. The commentary (or user-generated comment)in turn can be associated with the scene or segment at the particularpoint in time that the scene or segment is shown. Of course, multipleusers experiencing the same media content (synchronously orasynchronously between the users) can each insert their own comments toassociate with the media content as well.

Referring now also to FIG. 6, a screenshot 600 illustrating commentaryon a timeline associated with a media program, is illustratively shown.The screenshot 600 features an overlay generated by the client program.The overlay can include menu buttons and other operative controls whichare featured on the screenshot 600. Notably, the overlay can include atimeline 601, which can reflect the entire duration of a media programplaying at a user's media device.

Screenshot 600 illustrates comments inserted at various points in thetimeline 601 of the media program. The iconic spheres in the screenshot600 can indicate that a comment has been inserted at that particularpoint in the timeline 601 of the media program. For example, a singlecomment 602, a single comment 604, a single comment 606, and fourcomments 608 have been inserted into the timeline 601. Once theuser-generated comments are associated with their respective mediasegments, the user can utilize the client program to transmit the mediacontent, commentary/comments, and/or links to the content and commentaryto the server 510.

The server 510 can be configured to access, store, and maintain themedia content, commentary, and/or links to the media content andcommentary. Additionally, the server 510 can be configured to maintaininformation about the media content and commentary. If only the links tothe media content are sent to the server 510, the server 510 can beconfigured to identify and extract the actual media content associatedwith the link. Similarly, if only the links to the commentary are sentto the server 510, the server 510 can be configured to extract theactual commentary associated with the link.

The server 510 and/or the other devices in the system 500 can beconfigured to receive requests for the commentary and/or the mediacontent from recipient media devices, which can be the devices in thesystem 500. For example, media device 502 can transmit a request toserver 510 for media content and commentary from communications device512. When the server 510 receives a request from a recipient mediadevice, the server 510 can transmit at least a portion of the actualmedia content and commentary and/or the links to the media content andcommentary to the recipient media device. If only the links are sent tothe recipient media device, the recipient media device can access themedia content and/or commentary via the links.

The recipient media device can then be configured to present the mediacontent and/or commentary through a display device, such as displaydevices 508 a-c. Notably, the users of the recipient media device canutilize the client program much like the users of the media devicesgenerating the commentary. Additionally, user-generated commentary andmedia content can be generated at the recipient media device and can betransmitted to other devices in the system 500 that request thecommentary and/or media content generated at the recipient media device.

In an embodiment, the server 510 can prompt a media device, such asmedia devices 502, 504, and 506, to set a range of the media content tobe transmitted to the server 510. For example, the media device can seta range of the media content, which is thirty seconds before and thirtyseconds after any commentary associated with the media content. Notably,the range can be defined by vertical start and end lines within thetimeline of the media program that is presented by the client program,such as those surrounding comment 604 in FIG. 6. In another embodiment,the user of the media device can set the range without being prompted bythe server 510.

FIG. 7 depicts an illustrative method 700 operating in portions of thecommunication systems of FIG. 1-2, and FIG. 5. Method 700 can begin withstep 702 in which a system such as server 510 presents an overlaycombined with a presentation of media content at each of a plurality ofcomputing devices such as the media devices of FIG. 5. For convenienceand illustration purposes only, reference to the system in the flowdiagram of FIG. 7 will be replaced with server 510, and reference to acomputing device will be replaced with a media device. It will beappreciated that a system and a computing device can take on more thanthese illustrative embodiments. With this in mind, in step 704, theserver 510 can collect user-generated comments as described earlier fromeach of the media devices.

The server 510 in step 706 can use common pattern recognition techniquessuch as linear regression or other statistical models to detect acorrelation between user-generated comments collected from the mediadevices. A correlation can represent a degree of similarity betweencommentaries. The higher the degree of similarity, the higher thelikelihood that media device users generating the user-generatedcommentaries have common interests, thereby representing a detectablebehavioral pattern.

Correlation can be determined for example by detecting similarcommentaries having a near temporal relation. For instance, the server510 can detect negative, positive, or narrative commentaries having atemporal proximity to each other in relation to the media content beingpresented. More specifically for example say five users generatecomments about a car chase in a movie which these users are commentingon. Further suppose three out of the five users have positive commentsabout the car chase, while the other two have negative or neutralcomments. Under these circumstances, the server 510 can determine fromthe user-generated comments that three out of the five users may havecommon interests in action movies, the types of cars in the car chase,the actors performing in the movie, etc.

The server 510 can be programmed with various degrees of sophisticationto determine a correlation between user-generated comments. Forinstance, the server 510 can be programmed to identify correlationsbased on demographic or psychographic traits directly or indirectlyidentified from the user-generated comments collected. The server 510can also be programmed to detect correlations which can besubcategorized (e.g., likes cars, likes hot rods, likes specificautomobile models, etc.). It should be evident from these illustrationsthat there can be innumerable ways to identify correlations inuser-generated comments, which can be useful in identifying users withcommon interests and/or behaviors. Accordingly, the present disclosurecontemplates all possible embodiments for correlating user-generatedcomments.

When the server 510 detects correlation(s) in step 706, it can proceedto step 708 where it identifies the media devices or users thereofhaving correlated user-generated comments. The media device and/or userscan be identified by any form of identifiable data (e.g., telephonenumber, user login, social security ID, biometric ID, STB identifier,SIP URI, static IP address, etc.). Once the media devices and/or usershave been identified, the server 510 can be programmed to notify theusers by transmitting a message to their respective media devices. Themessage can indicate that a correlation has been detected which maywarrant establishing a social network if desired by the users. In step712, the server 510 can receive messages from the media devicesinitiated by the users indicating an interest or disinterest from theidentified users in joining the social network.

In step 714, the server 510 can establish a social network according tothe users indicating from their messages that they are interested injoining a social network. In this step, the server 510 create a virtualor adaptive social network 802 as shown in FIG. 8. The social networkcan be adaptive from the perspective that the server 510 can beprogrammed to manage the inclusion or exclusion of users and their mediadevices over the course of time. The adaptive social network 802 can beimplemented with common networking technology such as virtual privatenetwork (VPN) connections established between the identified mediadevices, or by other common networking techniques which can beestablished through the networks of FIGS. 1-3. The adaptive socialnetwork 802 can also be created by way of existing social networkingapplications such as FaceBook, MySpace, and so on.

Once a social network has been established, the server 510 can continueto collect user-generated comments in step 716 from the users partakingin the adaptive social network 802 by way of their media devices. Instep 718, the server 510 can determine if the user-generated commentsindicate a decorrelation of interests between the users. In this stepthe server 510 can monitor from the user-generated comments if one ormore users in the adaptive social network 802 have begun to loseinterest in certain subject matter, have fallen out of grace with eachother, or have demonstrated adverse interests. If a decorrelation hasbeen detected, and if the decorrelation appears to be long-term, theserver 510 can be programmed in step 720 to terminate the adaptivesocial network 802 in whole or in part. It should be noted that theadaptive social network 802 can also expand over time as the server 510detects in step s 702-714 that other users may have similar interests.

When additional users with common interests are detected, the server 510can inform the users in an already established social network whetherthey would be interested in adding additional parties. Whendecorrelation is detected, the server 510 can also be programmed toinform the remaining users in the social network with common interestswhether they have a desire to remove the one or more users with thedetected decorrelation. The decision to remove one or more users can bedetermined by majority vote, or other criteria established by the socialnetwork.

In addition to the aforementioned steps, an individual user of a mediadevice can submit to the server 510 in step 722 a request to identifyother media devices and/or its respective users having user-generatedcomments that correlate to the user-generated comments of the usersubmitting the request. When receiving such a request, the server 510can identify other users who have commented on the same media content,and thereafter perform correlation analysis as previously described. Theserver 510 can then compare the user-generated comments of all partiesto determine which parties are likely to have common interests with theuser submitting the request in step 722. From this point forward, asocial network can be established with the requesting user in a mannersimilar to the above descriptions.

Upon reviewing the aforementioned embodiments, it would be evident to anartisan with ordinary skill in the art that said embodiments can bemodified, reduced, or enhanced without departing from the scope andspirit of the claims described below. For example, the server 510 can bean integral part of a social networking application (e.g., MySpace). Inthis embodiment, creating social networks of users based on acorrelation of their user-generated comments can be kept within thecommunity of users utilizing the social networking application. With theabove technique, sub-groups of social networks can be created within thesocial network application.

Additionally, method 700 can be adapted so that all or a portion of thesteps described above can be performed in a distributed system. That is,the method can be implemented at each of the media devices without aserver. In this embodiment, the media devices can be adapted tocommunicate amongst each other, share user-generated comments and assesswhether correlations exist. Once correlations are detected, messagescould be submitted between the media devices to propose invitations to asocial network.

It should be further noted that the media devices generatinguser-generated comments can be generally represented as computingdevices of any form having the computing and communication resources toperform the aforementioned embodiments. Thus a computing device can be amobile phone, a lap top computer, a desktop computing, a gaming console,or any other device capable of establishing a communication session withanother device and performing the embodiments of the present disclosurein whole or in part.

Other suitable modifications can be applied to the present disclosurewithout departing from the scope of the claims below. Accordingly, thereader is directed to the claims section for a fuller understanding ofthe breadth and scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 depicts an exemplary diagrammatic representation of a machine inthe form of a computer system 900 within which a set of instructions,when executed, may cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed above. In some embodiments, the machine operatesas a standalone device. In some embodiments, the machine may beconnected (e.g., using a network) to other machines. In a networkeddeployment, the machine may operate in the capacity of a server or aclient user machine in server-client user network environment, or as apeer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed) network environment.

The machine may comprise a server computer, a client user computer, apersonal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a laptop computer, a desktopcomputer, a control system, a network router, switch or bridge, or anymachine capable of executing a set of instructions (sequential orotherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that machine. It will beunderstood that a device of the present disclosure includes broadly anyelectronic device that provides voice, video or data communication.Further, while a single machine is illustrated, the term “machine” shallalso be taken to include any collection of machines that individually orjointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform anyone or more of the methodologies discussed herein.

The computer system 900 may include a processor 902 (e.g., a centralprocessing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU, or both), a mainmemory 904 and a static memory 906, which communicate with each othervia a bus 908. The computer system 900 may further include a videodisplay unit 910 (e.g., a liquid crystal display (LCD), a flat panel, asolid state display, or a cathode ray tube (CRT)). The computer system900 may include an input device 912 (e.g., a keyboard), a cursor controldevice 914 (e.g., a mouse), a disk drive unit 916, a signal generationdevice 918 (e.g., a speaker or remote control) and a network interfacedevice 920.

The disk drive unit 916 may include a machine-readable medium 922 onwhich is stored one or more sets of instructions (e.g., software 924)embodying any one or more of the methodologies or functions describedherein, including those methods illustrated above. The instructions 924may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the mainmemory 904, the static memory 906, and/or within the processor 902during execution thereof by the computer system 900. The main memory 904and the processor 902 also may constitute machine-readable media.

Dedicated hardware implementations including, but not limited to,application specific integrated circuits, programmable logic arrays andother hardware devices can likewise be constructed to implement themethods described herein. Applications that may include the apparatusand systems of various embodiments broadly include a variety ofelectronic and computer systems. Some embodiments implement functions intwo or more specific interconnected hardware modules or devices withrelated control and data signals communicated between and through themodules, or as portions of an application-specific integrated circuit.Thus, the example system is applicable to software, firmware, andhardware implementations.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure, themethods described herein are intended for operation as software programsrunning on a computer processor. Furthermore, software implementationscan include, but not limited to, distributed processing orcomponent/object distributed processing, parallel processing, or virtualmachine processing can also be constructed to implement the methodsdescribed herein.

The present disclosure contemplates a machine readable medium containinginstructions 924, or that which receives and executes instructions 924from a propagated signal so that a device connected to a networkenvironment 926 can send or receive voice, video or data, and tocommunicate over the network 926 using the instructions 924. Theinstructions 924 may further be transmitted or received over a network926 via the network interface device 920.

While the machine-readable medium 922 is shown in an example embodimentto be a single medium, the term “machine-readable medium” should betaken to include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralizedor distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) thatstore the one or more sets of instructions. The term “machine-readablemedium” shall also be taken to include any medium that is capable ofstoring, encoding or carrying a set of instructions for execution by themachine and that cause the machine to perform any one or more of themethodologies of the present disclosure.

The term “machine-readable medium” shall accordingly be taken toinclude, but not be limited to: solid-state memories such as a memorycard or other package that houses one or more read-only (non-volatile)memories, random access memories, or other re-writable (volatile)memories; magneto-optical or optical medium such as a disk or tape;and/or a digital file attachment to e-mail or other self-containedinformation archive or set of archives is considered a distributionmedium equivalent to a tangible storage medium. Accordingly, thedisclosure is considered to include any one or more of amachine-readable medium or a distribution medium, as listed herein andincluding art-recognized equivalents and successor media, in which thesoftware implementations herein are stored.

Although the present specification describes components and functionsimplemented in the embodiments with reference to particular standardsand protocols, the disclosure is not limited to such standards andprotocols. Each of the standards for Internet and other packet switchednetwork transmission (e.g., TCP/IP, UDP/IP, HTML, HTTP) representexamples of the state of the art. Such standards are periodicallysuperseded by faster or more efficient equivalents having essentiallythe same functions. Accordingly, replacement standards and protocolshaving the same functions are considered equivalents.

The illustrations of embodiments described herein are intended toprovide a general understanding of the structure of various embodiments,and they are not intended to serve as a complete description of all theelements and features of apparatus and systems that might make use ofthe structures described herein. Many other embodiments will be apparentto those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. Otherembodiments may be utilized and derived therefrom, such that structuraland logical substitutions and changes may be made without departing fromthe scope of this disclosure. Figures are also merely representationaland may not be drawn to scale. Certain proportions thereof may beexaggerated, while others may be minimized. Accordingly, thespecification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative ratherthan a restrictive sense.

Such embodiments of the inventive subject matter may be referred toherein, individually and/or collectively, by the term “invention” merelyfor convenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope ofthis application to any single invention or inventive concept if morethan one is in fact disclosed. Thus, although specific embodiments havebeen illustrated and described herein, it should be appreciated that anyarrangement calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substitutedfor the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to coverany and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in theart upon reviewing the above description.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to comply with 37 C.F.R.§1.72(b), requiring an abstract that will allow the reader to quicklyascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It is submitted withthe understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit thescope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in the foregoing DetailedDescription, it can be seen that various features are grouped togetherin a single embodiment for the purpose of streamlining the disclosure.This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted as reflecting anintention that the claimed embodiments require more features than areexpressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claimsreflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than all features of asingle disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims are herebyincorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claim standing onits own as a separately claimed subject matter.

1. A method, comprising: utilizing a processor for providing to aplurality of computing devices, an overlay combined with media contentfor presentation by each of the plurality of computing devices toillustrate one or more user-generated comments temporally associatedwith portions of the presented media content utilizing a time line andannotations along the time line that are representative of each of theone or more user-generated comments, wherein at least a portion of theone or more user-generated comments are shared among the plurality ofcomputing devices; collecting at the processor, the one or moreuser-generated comments from the plurality of computing devices;utilizing the processor for detecting a correlation in the one or moreuser-generated comments collected from the plurality of computingdevices; utilizing the processor for facilitating establishment of asocial network that includes at least a subset of the plurality ofcomputing devices according to the detected correlation; monitoringadditional user-generated comments associated with the social networkthat are originated from the at least a subset of the plurality ofcomputing devices; determining a decorrelation in the additionaluser-generated comments; and removing at least one computing device ofthe at least a subset of the plurality of computing devices from thesocial network based on the determined decorrelation without terminatingthe social network.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the correlationcorresponds to detecting a behavioral pattern in the one or moreuser-generated comments collected from the plurality of computingdevices, wherein the social network corresponds to a virtual networkincluding the at least a subset of the plurality of computing devices,and wherein the computing devices comprise at least one of a computer, aportable communication device, or a gaming console.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, comprising establishing the social network by way of an on-linesocial networking application.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein themethod operates from an on-line social networking application.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, comprising: receiving from another computing device arequest to identify at least one of the plurality of computing devicesgenerating one or more user-generated comments that correlate to the oneor more user generated comments generated by the other computing device;identifying at least one of the plurality of computing devicesgenerating one or more user-generated comments that correlate to the oneor more user generated comments generated of another of the plurality ofcomputing devices; and transmitting to the other computing device atleast one identification associated with the identified at least onecomputing device.
 6. The method of claim 5, comprising receiving fromthe other computing device a request to establish the social networkwith the identified at least one computing device.
 7. The method ofclaim 5, wherein the at least one identification corresponds to anidentification of one of the identified at least one computing deviceand a user associated therewith.
 8. The method of claim 1, comprising:identifying the at least a subset of computing devices having thecorrelated user-generated comments submitting a notice to the at least asubset of computing devices; receiving a message from at least a portionof the at least a subset of computing devices indicating an interest ordisinterest in joining the social network; and facilitating establishingthe social network according to the messages received from the computingdevices.
 9. A system, comprising: a memory storing computerinstructions; and a controller coupled with the memory, wherein thecontroller when executing the computer instructions performs operationscomprising: collecting one or more remarks from each of a plurality ofcomputing devices, wherein the one or more remarks are temporallyassociated with media content presented at the plurality of computingdevices; detecting a correlation in the one or more remarks collectedfrom the plurality of computing devices; facilitating establishment of asocial network including at least a subset of the plurality of computingdevices according to the detected correlation; monitoring additionalremarks associated with the social network; determining a decorrelationin the additional remarks; and removing a target computing device fromthe social network based on the determined decorrelation.
 10. The systemof claim 9, wherein the one or more remarks correspond to user-generatedremarks, wherein an overlay is combined with the presentation of themedia content, wherein the one or more user-generated remarks aretemporally associated with the media content according to the overlayutilizing a time line and annotations along the time line that arerepresentative of each of the user-generated remarks, and wherein atleast a portion of the user-generated remarks are shared among theplurality of computing devices.
 11. The system of claim 9, wherein themonitored additional remarks are originated from the at least a subsetof the plurality of computing devices, wherein the correlationcorresponds to detecting a behavioral pattern in the one or more remarkscollected from the plurality of computing devices, and wherein the oneor more remarks are temporally associated with a scene of the mediacontent and are shared among one or more of the plurality of computingdevices.
 12. The system of claim 9, wherein the plurality of computingdevices comprise a portable communication device, and wherein thecontroller generates one of the one or more remarks from a voicerecording received from and captured by the portable communicationdevice.
 13. The system of claim 9, wherein the controller when executingthe computer instructions performs operations comprising: terminatingthe social network according to the determined decorrelation.
 14. Thesystem of claim 9, wherein the computer instructions comprise an onlinesocial networking application.
 15. A non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium in a computing device, comprising computer instructionswhich when executed by a processor cause the processor to performoperations comprising: collecting one or more comments temporallyassociated with a presentation of media content; and transmitting to asystem the one or more comments, wherein the system is operable at leastto: collect the one or more comments from the computing device alongwith other comments from other computing devices; detect a correlationin the one or more comments collected from the plurality of computingdevices; establish a social network between at least a subset of theplurality of computing devices according to the detected correlation;collect additional comments associated with the social network that areoriginated from the computing device and the other computing devicesthat form a group of computing devices; determine a decorrelation in theadditional comments; and remove at least one computing device of thegroup of computing devices from the social network based on thedetermined decorrelation.
 16. The non-transitory computer-readablestorage medium of claim 15, wherein the correlation corresponds todetecting a behavioral pattern in the one or more comments collectedfrom the plurality of computing devices, and wherein the one or morecomments are temporally associated with a scene of the media content andare shared among at least a portion of the groups of computing devices.17. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 15,wherein the system is operable at least to: terminate the social networkaccording to the determined decorrelation.
 18. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 15, comprising computerinstructions which when executing the computer instructions performsoperations comprising: transmitting to the system a request to identifyat least one of the plurality of computing devices generating one ormore comments that correlate to the one or more comments generated bythe computing device, wherein the system is operable at least to:identify at least one of the plurality of computing devices generatingone or more comments that correlate to the one or more commentsgenerated by the computing device; and transmit to the computing devicean identification associated with the identified at least one computingdevice.